Cyprus exclusion zone. Famagusta - the dead quarter of varosha
Do you know that you can get to Turkey without leaving Cyprus? It is possible.
Today I will tell you how we visited the Republic of Turkey Northern Cyprus, in the city of Famagusta, and what happens to the cities that people left.
It is not difficult to enter the TRNC - you fill out a questionnaire at the border, a mark is put in it (entry-exit), and no marks are put in the passport.
And here we are in Famagusta.
Moreover, the Greek Cypriots call this city Ammochostos, and the Turkish Cypriots call it Magus.
We pass the Victory Monument depicting the struggle of the Turkish Cypriots of Famagusta for many years for their land. 
Here I first learned that Cyprus was Railway.
The first steam train is immortalized on a pedestal. 
And now, my dears, we are at the Varosha quarter.
I will make a reservation right away, you cannot shoot with a camera here, so all the images presented below are drawings from memory. 
This quarter of the city, surrounded by a fence and barbed wire, was the richest and developing resort 45 years ago.
All European bohemia was having a good time here. Dozens of the richest hotels and casinos stood along the coast. 
But in July 1974, in response to the coup d'état in Cyprus, when power passed to the pro-Greek military organization that advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Greece, Turkey sent regular troops to the island. 
Having declared that the territory belonged to them historically, the Turks gave Greek Cypriots a day to evict from their homes. You were only allowed to take with you what you could carry with you ... 
By clearly visible bullet holes, the "evacuation" was not at all peaceful.
Before the invasion, the Turks conducted air raids, and, according to local residents, they used bombs kindly provided by the states.
It is said that during the invasion several thousand Greek Cypriots were killed and disappeared. 
The quarter, after the "cleansing", was plundered. The crosses from the churches have been taken down.
Later, the territory was surrounded by a fence.
Until now, the issue of the return of Greek Cypriots, or the settlement of the territory by the Turks has not been settled. Turks and Greeks insist on their terms.
According to a 1984 UN Security Council resolution, it is stated: "Attempts to populate any part of the Varosha quarter with anyone other than its residents are unacceptable." 
In general, all this caused a heavy feeling for me.
I will never understand for sure: why a developed civilization cannot resolve peacefully all the contradictions and difficulties among those living on Earth?
Think at your leisure.
And for me, the main memory of Varosha now is this parking lot of the children's school bus ... 
The land is overgrown, buildings are crumbling. 
Soon, to the delight of the Turks, nothing will be visible from behind the fence. 
By the way, this neighborhood does not prevent them from settling in right behind the road.
Personally, I could not even sleep well next to this place. 
Our further route was supposed to somehow dispel the negative from what we saw.
We are going to the sea. 
What a beautiful house!
It turned out to be the cottage of the richest inhabitant of Famagusta. Before the Turkish invasion.
And the barracks of the elite Turkish special forces after ... 
We are approaching the sea. 
An abandoned hotel complex meets us with a positive picture of a partially destroyed wall from a direct hit from an aerial bomb. 
There are such posters everywhere.
Let me remind you that these are all sketches! 
What's behind the fence ... 
We went to the shore.
This is head removal, guys ...
Vacationers-tourists and empty eye-sockets-windows of abandoned hotels ... 
The sea and the beach are of course simply magnificent here ... 
It is not for nothing that these places are called "Golden Sands" of Famagusta.
The sand really does have a golden color. 
The water is disgustingly warm! 
In the booth there is a border guard with a machine gun.
Flags of Turkey and TRNC.
Behind the fence - devastation ... 
In the other direction, everything is all right ...
This Turkish 5 * hotel is operating.
Famous for having rested in it varlamov.ru
Indeed, a little curly .. 
I went to the pier. Barefoot.
I almost burned my feet completely on brown planks ... 
But the views from there are wonderful. 
...
But still these empty hotels .... 
I couldn’t put it into my head. 
Although, those who rest here all the time do not seem to be soaring anymore ... 
By the way, a tremendous hello to the girls from St. Petersburg! 
Ahead is the historical part of the city - the Famagusta fortress with its bastions and many temples.
But about this - another time ... 
Until next time!
Famagusta and the gated area of Varosha
Varosha (Greek Varosia, tour Maras) is a quarter in the city of Famagusta in Cyprus. It was popular before the Turkish invasion tourist spot and later became a "ghost town".
In the 1970s, Famagusta was the main tourist destination in Cyprus. Due to the growing number of tourists in the city, many new hotels and tourist facilities were built, and especially many of them appeared in Varosha. In the period from 1970 to 1974, the city was at the peak of its popularity and was recognized by many famous people of that time. Stars who visited him included Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch and Brigitte Bardot. There were many modern hotels, and its streets were home to a large number of entertainment establishments, bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
On July 20, 1974, the Turkish army invaded Cyprus in response to a political coup in the country, and on August 15 of the same year, the Turks occupied Famagusta. As a result of these actions, the country was split into two parts: Greek and Turkish. The Greeks who lived in Varosha were evacuated and since then they have been prohibited from returning there. Journalists were also banned from entering the area. Thus, the quarter is frozen in time, with shops filled with clothes that were fashionable 35 years ago and empty but fully equipped hotels. Since no repairs have been made there during all this time, all buildings are gradually being destroyed. Nature is gradually recapturing its territories again, as the metal rusts, and numerous trees and other plants fill its streets. Swedish journalist Jan Olaf Bengtson, who visited the Swedish battalion of UN peacekeeping forces and saw the closed area, called it a "ghost town":
"The asphalt on the streets is cracked from the heat of the sun, and bushes are growing in the middle of the road. Now, in September 1977, dining tables are still set, clothes are still hanging in the laundries, and lamps are still burning. Famagusta is a ghost town."
Everyone knows about Pripyat - a city abandoned by people after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. But only a few are aware that such a dead locality exists not only in the forests in the north of Ukraine, but also on the island of Cyprus. We are talking about the Varosha region - the once fashionable Mediterranean resort, which in a matter of days turned into a ghost.
The fact is that on the small island of Cyprus two states are now forced to exist in parallel - the Greek and the Turkish. They were not a single country for long, in the period from 1960 to 1974, after gaining independence from Great Britain and before the outbreak of the Civil War.
The latter was caused by the growth of nationalist sentiments of the Greek Cypriots, which led to a military coup and the announcement by the junta of the annexation of Cyprus to Greece. Turkey, one of the guarantors of the country's independence, did not hesitate to send its troops to protect the Turkish population of the island.
During the unfolding war, the ghost town of Varosha appeared. Before the conflict, it was one of the most popular and luxurious resorts in the region, which attracted wealthy people from all over the world, including music and film stars. However, in 1974, the area was in the line of fire, and the authorities were forced to evacuate the local population, consisting mainly of Greeks.
People left their homes, thinking that it was only for a few days until the conflict was resolved. But history had other plans for that. For almost 40 years, Varosha has been standing empty, surrounded on all sides by a fence guarded by Turkish troops and UN peacekeepers.
Once luxury hotels and villas are empty and crumbling, they stand without windows, without doors and without furniture inside. Vegetation makes its way through the asphalt and turns Varosha into a dense forest with separate military roads cleared by hands for patrol cars.
And, most interestingly, in the immediate vicinity of the abandoned quarters, there are quite inhabited areas of the city of Famagusta (the Turkish part of Cyprus), including several coastal hotels... And the beach of one of them bites its appendix into a ghost town, fenced off from it by a fence of black matter. At the same time, the border passes only a few tens of meters from sun loungers and umbrellas.
Annan's plan in 2004 called for the return of Varosha to the Greeks, but in the end this did not happen, because it was rejected by the Greek Cypriots.
Varosha is mentioned in Alan Weisman's book "The World Without Us" as an example of the irrepressible forces of nature.
The beach in Famagusta, the best in Cyprus - with fine sand and the purest water... Despite this, the beach is not crowded. 
When I pointed the camera at the abandoned hotels in Varosha, one of the vacationers immediately approached me, and pointing to the towers located along the perimeter of the fence, advised me not to shoot - it is forbidden! 
We drove around the block, along the fence. In some places, the fence is low, and there are no guarded towers around at all. I was so attracted to sneak into the territory and make a photo report. But the fellow travelers stopped him. First, they say the territory of Varosha is still mined in many places. Secondly, the soldiers guarding Varosha are very determined. I am sure that having noticed the violator, they will not observe political correctness and diplomacy. The problems can be extremely serious. 
Varosha makes a depressing impression. The spirit of hopelessness soars around, which extends to the whole of Famagusta. The complete opposite of Cyrene:
To change our mood, we visited the main attraction of Famagusta, the Cathedral of St. Nicholas.
Cathedral of St. Nicholas - the main medieval temple of the city of Famagusta on east coast Cyprus. Built in the 14th century on the model of the late Gothic Reims Cathedral by the Cypriot kings of the Lusignan dynasty. It is called in travel brochures.
The cathedral was consecrated in 1328 and has since been used by the Lusignans for the crowning of the Jerusalem throne. During the siege of Famagusta by the Turks in 1571, it was badly damaged by cannon fire. The Turks destroyed the figurative sculptural decoration of the temple and turned it into a mosque, which they began to call it. Frequent earthquakes caused considerable damage to the preservation of the building. In 1954, it was renamed the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque in honor of the military leader who commanded the siege of Famagusta in 1571. 
When it got dark, we left the territory of Northern Cyprus through the checkpoint located at Famagusta. Finding him was not easy. No signposts, no further information. Lost in some inconspicuous village, I had to turn to local residents for help. As a result, they found it.
At the checkpoint, our passports were checked as standard, we briefly inspected the car and, having slapped the stamp into the insert, let us go in peace ... an hour and a half later we were already in Limassol.
The ghost town of Famagusta in Cyprus attracts tourists with its originality. Back in the relatively recent 60s, one of the most fashionable resorts in the Mediterranean flourished here, and local beaches visited by the most eminent celebrities. Now, Famagusta is an exclusion zone surrounded by barbed wire and guarded around the clock by Turkish gendarmes. Time in Famagusta froze in 1974, and this story - a place abandoned by people and frozen in time - is a cross between Cuba and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. But we'll start from the beginning.
From antiquity to the Middle Ages
Just 6 km north of modern city Famagusta in Cyprus was once the richest and most powerful polis on the island - Salamis (another name is Salamis), founded, according to legend, immediately after the Trojan War by Tevkrom Telamonides. For over a millennium, this city was the capital of the Cypriot kings and the center of trade in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the coast near Salamis in the III century. BC. Ptolemy II, king of Hellenized Egypt and an ally of Rome, founded another polis - Arsinoe.
For over a millennium Salamis was the capital of the Cypriot kings and the center of trade in the Eastern Mediterranean
Earthquakes 332 and 342 neither city was spared. The Roman emperor Constantius preferred Salamis (renamed Constantius) and rebuilt it. Soon this city became the center of the Church of Cyprus, and a small fishing settlement, Famagusta, arose on the ruins of Arsinoe. In the VII century. her time has come: the inhabitants of Salamis-Constantia had to leave their homes due to the constant attacks of the Muslim Arabs. Today, the forum-gymnasiums and the amphitheater of Salamis, restored during excavations, are considered practically business cards Northern Cyprus.
Richard the Lionheart, Kings of Cyprus and the Jealous Commandant
On May 1, 1191, the fleet of the English Crusader King Richard the Lionheart, heading from Rhodes to Accra, was caught in a storm. Of the four ships washed ashore, one survived, but its passengers - the king's sister and bride - became prisoners of the usurper of Cyprus Isaac Comnenus. Richard's answer was symmetrical: he conquered the island, waiting for the emperor to leave it for a short time. After that, for many years, until the end of the XIII century, Cyprus remained in the possession of the Crusaders.
During the Turkish rule, the Cathedral of St. Nicholas was renamed the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque
Famagusta became a significant settlement in Cyprus only at the end of the 13th century, with the fall of the Christian kingdoms of Palestine. It was thanks to the exodus of the Crusaders that Famagusta soon became a city where those who still dreamed of returning to the Holy Land settled. Hopes were in vain, but Famagusta turned into a rich trading port, protected by a formidable fortress.
From 1328 to 1374 representatives of the Lusignan dynasty, nominally considered the kings of Jerusalem, and in fact - the kings of Cyprus - were crowned in the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Famagusta. In 1374, Famagusta was annexed by Genoa, which won the war with Cyprus. The Lusignan dynasty died out in 1489, after which, according to the will of the widow of the last king, Catherine Cornaro, Cyprus passed to Venice.
Rumor has it that the story of a jealous husband and his wife, which took place here in 1508, formed the basis of Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello"
In 1505, Cristoforo Moro was appointed commandant of the fortress and castle of Famagusta, which also became Venetian. The fortress has already been renovated, and the castle has been rebuilt in the Renaissance style. According to legend, from one of its towers in 1508, the commandant Moreau threw the body of his murdered wife, whom he suspected of infidelity, and then committed suicide. This dark story formed the basis of Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello".
From empires to republic
The Famagusta fortress in Cyprus is famous not only for the Othello tower, but also for its heroic defense in 1570-71, during the siege of the city by the troops of the Turkish Sultan Selim II. The siege lasted 10 months, but the forces were clearly unequal. The Venetians had to surrender the city. One of the conditions of surrender was the unhindered exit of the surviving soldiers from Famagusta. Lala Mustafa Pasha, the commander of the Turkish army that was besieging the fortress, agreed to these conditions, but did not keep his promise.
Until recently, Famagusta was one of the most fashionable resorts in the Mediterranean.
Turkey owned Cyprus until 1878. In Famagusta, the southern coastal area Varosha. Orthodox and Latin churches became mosques. The Cathedral of St. Nicholas (now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque) also became a mosque, but most Greek Cypriots continued to secretly practice Christian rites. From 1878 to 1960 Cyprus was a British colony, but the Turks and Greeks still lived separately.
Cyprus gained independence in 1960, while both communities retained full self-government. This made it possible to start developing the tourism business. Famagusta in Cyprus has become one of the most prestigious resorts. Among her guests were Brigitte Bardot and Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton. In the Varosha district, a full-scale construction of hotels on the first line began, and on the second - next to colonial-style houses - new villas appeared ...
Famagusta ghost town: payback for trust
On August 14, 1974, tanks approached Famagusta: this is how the Turkish government reacted to the desire of the Greek Cypriots to reunite with Greece. On August 16, the city was occupied by Turkish troops. Residents of the Varosha district, who fled from shelling and bombing, did not even suspect that they were leaving their homes forever. It was announced to them that they would be able to return as soon as the situation was resolved. The area was fenced in with barbed wire concrete fences and the ghost town became a brutal reality. The settlement of the situation in this area of Famagusta has been going on for 40 years ...
Time in Famagusta froze in 1974
According to a UN resolution adopted in 1984, only former local residents can settle in the area, but this is prohibited by the Turkish authorities. That is why the beaches of Varosha, which were considered almost the best not only in Famagusta, but also in the Mediterranean as a whole, are now deserted. Both the fashionable hotels built in the early 70s and the neat houses of the Greeks have already despaired of waiting for their owners and guests….
The forbidden zone of Famagusta immediately attracted the attention of "stalkers". Clothes, equipment, dishes - everything was plundered in the first years of the existence of the "dead city". The "craftsmen" put aluminum frames out of the windows, dismantled them "by the bones" and took out the furniture, removed all the stuffing from the abandoned cars. This is despite the fact that only Turkish gendarmes, UN representatives and a few journalists are allowed to enter and enter the closed territory.
Entry into the closed area is still allowed only for Turkish gendarmes, UN representatives and a few journalists
However, in last years walking or taking a tourist bus around the perimeter of the "dead city" is allowed on an excursion to Famagusta (Gazimagusa in Turkish), but we are still not talking about a walk through the territory itself. Violators face a heavy fine and subsequent deportation. All photos close-up, which can be found in blogs and media, were obtained either illegally or with special permission for foreign journalists.
Excursions: where you can and where you can't
The ghost town of Famagusta is, of course, an exaggeration, and it is quite possible to walk along its streets, bypassing, of course, the Varosha district. But for this you will need to cross the border with Northern Cyprus and get an entry visa at the checkpoint, which is put in a separate insert. You can do this on your own, but it is better to act for sure, preferring an excursion with a guide who knows all the moves and exits (an article about a guide in Cyprus, offering excursions to Famagusta, and ask him a question about the trip through the feedback form below). And it will be much easier to see the ghost town this way, especially since the Turkish gendarmes do not welcome citizens walking along the restricted area unaccompanied.
As part of the tour, you can see the fortress with the Othello tower, sea gate, mosque, walk around the city, etc.
As part of such an excursion, it is usually also proposed to explore the fortress with the Othello tower, the sea gate, the Lala Mustafa Pasha mosque, as well as stroll along the city streets, including for shopping. If you do not plan to cross the border with Northern Cyprus anymore, it makes sense to visit other cities with ancient history such as Kyrenia or Lapitos.
Here was a city, here was a resort ...
There is such a thing in North Cyprus famous place- Famagusta. Once upon a time there were the best beaches on the island, and real estate in the fashionable Varos district is the most expensive in Cyprus. But that was once. Now Varosha - dead city, which was left by ABSOLUTELY all residents and in which it is strictly forbidden to be anyone. It is forbidden even to photograph the fence and what is visible through the fence, under the threat of imprisonment!
Everything that is on this moment- the result of the confrontation between greed and pride. And it's not about ancient times, but about the 20th century. First, a coup d'etat took place in the country and the president was removed from power. Then another state brought its troops into part of its territory, annexing them and calling it a "peacekeeping operation." At the time when someone flew into space, there was a civil war on the island. Short but tragic. As a result - divided cities, destroyed destinies, unrecognized territories and a "ghost town" ...
2. It is no exaggeration to say that the beaches in Famagusta are the best in Cyprus, with fine sand and clear water. The ancient Greeks were the first to appreciate this, behind them were the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans, Venetians and the Ottomans for the longest time, they already knew a lot about pleasures ...
Including for the beaches, the "tasty" island has always been the subject of claims of the closest neighbors - Greece and Turkey. This was intensified within the insular confrontation of two ethnic groups - Cypriot Greeks and Turks, Orthodox Christians and Muslims. However, ethnic differences did not prevent local residents from living peacefully side by side, growing olives together and building their own state. Independence from Great Britain, which since 1925 considered Cyprus as its colony, a small but proud country received in 1960.
Given this nature and climate, it is logical that tourism has become the main branch of the Cypriot economy. Literally in a matter of years oldest port in the southeast of the island Famagusta (Greek Ammochostos, tur. Gazimagosa), stretching for 4 km along the coast of the bay of the same name, became fashionable resort... Especially famous was its modern prestigious quarter on the coast - Varosha (tour. Maras). In addition to nature, Famagusta had more to surprise tourists: the remains of ancient Salamis, the largest Hellenic polis in Cyprus, a Venetian fortress, an Armenian monastery, and several Gothic churches. All this together with the climate, sandy beaches and Mediterranean Sea it turned out to be enough for Varosha to transform into the local Cote d'Azur.
3. This is what Famagusta looked like
4. But that was more than 40 years ago ... What about now? Is the surrounding ruins the very prestigious resort? 
5. Now it bears the name - "dead city" Famagusta ... Although, in fact, Famagusta is by no means a dead city - tourists relax on the beach next to the fence and look through the lenses of its suburb Varosha, which was once a fashionable resort with a predominantly Greek population, and now a "ghost town", a vivid evidence of the contrast and advantages of "legal" Cyprus over "illegal", is guarded by the Turkish army and is a restricted area.
It became ... 
6. It was ...
7. In 1974, the Greek military attempted a coup d'état, resulting in the establishment of the dictatorship of "black colonels" in Cyprus, which became a convenient excuse for Turkey to send its troops to the island. The Turks declared about the occupation of about 30% of the island (this is the ratio of Greeks and Turks that existed at that time). But in three days, Turkish troops occupied almost 40% of the territories, including Famagusta with Varosha. One of the results of the division of the island into Turkish and Greek halves was the appearance of a "ghost town" on its map. Dozens of high-rise hotels, sanatoriums, residential buildings and private villas were abandoned in an instant, surrounded by barbed wire and placed at the disposal of marauders and nature for many decades.
View of Varosha from the beach. You can still get here. Under the two flags of Turkey and the unrecognized republic of Northern Cyprus, the post where the sentry usually sits. 
8. Green grid demarcation and warning poster. The entrance to the closed area is allowed only to the military of Turkey and the UN. 
9. This is a former postcard view of the current ghost area as seen from the beach in the open part of Famagusta. Hotels Aspelia, Florida, the TWIGA residential complex and the Salaminia hotel ... Concrete boxes with empty floors - this is how they look now. 
10. Tourists from all over Europe aspired to Varosha, celebrities acquired mansions. One could only dream of buying real estate in this area. The quarter was the economic center of the Famagusta region and the entire southeast of the island. His hotels were so popular that the most fashionable rooms were booked by the prudent Germans and the British right up until 2007 (!!!). 
11. Golden sands, Grecian, Argo, King George, Asterias - these and other hotels in Varosha, lined up along the front Avenue named after John F. Kennedy, formed the new modernist face of Famagusta. The infrastructure developed rapidly, striving to meet the needs of the wealthy public - luxury apartments, expensive shops, recreation areas. From all this now there are only old bright postcards that tourists, who have found the golden decade of the city, managed to buy as a keepsake or send to relatives who were unlucky to be in Varosha. 
12. Fences are laid along former beach and go out to sea. 
13. Everywhere fences and barbed wire. 
14. Not only streets, but also buildings are divided. On opposite sides of the border. 
15. Famagusta ended up in the Turkish sector, and Varosha, its resort area, closely adhered to the Green Line, a buffer demilitarized zone controlled by UN forces and dividing the island into Greek and Turkish parts. Mostly Greeks lived in Varosha and owned most of the hotels here - for them the war for Cyprus ended almost overnight. 109 hotels and residential complexes district, capable of receiving about 11 thousand guests, instantly emptied. 
16. Local residents(and at that time there were more than 35 thousand of them) for a swift evacuation, and in fact, flight, they were given 24 hours to leave the city. They left, fully confident that they would return in a maximum of two weeks. But 40 years have passed since then, a whole generation has grown up, and the opportunity to re-enter their home for none of them has not yet appeared. 
17. There is evidence that this area was subjected to total plunder, since it was here that the main center was concentrated. beach tourism the whole island and rich Greeks lived in their villas. All of them, leaving the city during the day, the Turks were allowed to take with them only what could fit in two bags. 
18. All the petrol stations in Famagusta belonged to the Petrolina company, the Greek oil monopoly of the time. 
19. In places the Green Line dividing Cyprus is a series of metal barrels. For 40 years, they managed to rust, and the line of dividing the island itself is not so insurmountable - after the accession of Cyprus to the EU, the EU law on free movement was extended to the island, after which three additional checkpoints were opened between the south and north. People who have not seen their own houses since 1974 were given the opportunity to return to their native quarters at least for a while. 
20. Abandoned houses are gradually surrendering under the onslaught of lush vegetation. Not only does the poster prohibit the entrance to the courtyard, but the prickly pear has become a mountain. 
21. Fences are not so impregnable, but penetration into the adjacent territory can be tragic. 
22. From the memoirs of the participants in the events: “August 14, 1974 At 08:00 am the Turks began to bomb the Cypriot capital and international Airport... Famagusta was shelled from the sea, the Turks launched an offensive from the bridgehead in Kyrenia on the road to Nicosia and further to Famagusta. The Turks moved quickly without encountering strong resistance. They seized an international airport near Nicosia and two days later reached the border of the division of Cyprus (the "Attila" line), which was previously assumed by the Turkish government. At the same time, they managed to establish control over the ports of Famagusta, Bogaz and Morphu. On August 17, the Cypriot government announced that Turkish troops occupied about 40% of the island's territory. About 200 thousand Greek Cypriots were expelled from their homes in northern Cyprus. More than a thousand of them are still missing ”. 
23. These houses, too, will soon become "missing", maybe not without a trace, after all, somewhere the street plans have survived, after all, not the Stone Age, but already irrevocably. 
24. Varosha was bombed, but not too much, apparently, only for the sake of exaggeration. But she became a victim of total plunder by marauders. First of all, these were the Turkish military, who took furniture, televisions and dishes to the mainland. Then the inhabitants of the nearby streets, who stole everything that the soldiers and officers of the occupying army did not need. Turkey was forced to declare the city a closed zone, but this did not save the area from total plunder: everything that could be taken away was taken away. 
25. According to some analysts, the Turks did not dare to settle in Varosha, because almost all real estate here belongs (until now!) To Western capital, and not to the Greeks. They did not want to develop a conflict with the West, but they were in no hurry to give up the territory, leaving it as an element of bargaining in negotiations. 
26. And the negotiations were not alone. They go constantly. But the whole problem lies in the document adopted in May 1984 by the UN Security Council - Resolution No. 550, which, in particular, states: "Attempts to populate any part of the Varosha quarter with anyone other than its inhabitants are unacceptable." 
27. Where are the former residents? Someone settled in the southern part of the island, someone moved to mainland Greece, who immigrated to the UK and the USA. Return? Probably, they would like to, but in what, who is able to restore it and does it really make sense ... Only the former refugees themselves can answer this. 
28. In 2004, following the accession of Cyprus to the EU, the border between the north and south of the island became more transparent. Many Greek Cypriots went to the Turkish side to see what happened to their homes. There were cases when people returned things and family albums to each other ... 
29. Unlike many other places in Cyprus, where the abandoned houses of the Greeks were occupied by their Turkish neighbors or migrants from Turkey (the Greeks call them Anatolian settlers), the Turks from Famagusta did not settle Varosha. In the form in which the Greek Cypriots once left it, it appears before us even now, as a terrible monument civil war that divided bi-national Cyprus 
30. The city froze in time, which is ruthless to him 
31. Although, officially Varosha cannot be photographed, many people secretly take pictures of her, and there is information that the Turkish sentries themselves contribute to this for a "small reward." Well, those who still managed to visit there and not get caught by the Turkish patrols talk about complete desolation and devastation. That can be seen from behind the fence. Few people know about this, but the former residents there are sometimes allowed to be there inside. Well, it is clear that everything that was left there was taken away. Moreover, there is even one hotel in Varosha. This is a rest house for officers of the occupying Turkish army. 
32. What can be observed here now gives a strange impression. By the way, there is a steam locomotive on the rails near the Famagusta City Hall. It turns out that there was a railway in Cyprus and it led here. But ... Varosha became a ghost, so did the road. 
33. Tourists come here regularly, and therefore the locals perceive them without surprise. But they warn that those who are caught in the Zone will face a fine of 10,000 euros, or even arrest. You see, in front of the still decent-looking Folkstagen, there are posters on the fence: "Forbidden Zone" or "Know fotos, know cameras." And these are not horror stories. A striking example. In Famagusta, in early October 2016, near the Palm Beach hotel, a Russian was arrested for ignoring the ban on photographing the closed zone of Varosha by the Turkish military police. The detainee was released on recognizance not to leave with a bail of 1,500 euros. The suspect faces a trial and faces a 5-year prison sentence if found guilty of photographing a war zone. 
34. The network stubbornly cites the story of the Swedish journalist Jan Olaf Bengtson, who visited a closed area with UN soldiers, and was the first to call Famagusta a "ghost town", about laid dining tables, linen that is still dried on ropes in some places, price tags in shops and bars in 1974. But it was written in 1977 !!). They just forget about it. In fact, in Varosha, there is nothing but rusty scrap metal, crumbling concrete, which has filled all the vegetation.
Photo from here
35. On the border street, you can also find this - in fact, the remains of a skeleton next to quite "live horses". 
35. It is difficult to get used to the sight of a city divided right along the street. But even in such a pretty devastated state, Varosha has a lot of interesting things, including for those who appreciate the "abandoned". For example, 1970s cars abandoned in garages and on the streets (including an entire Toyota fleet in a former dealership). But, alas, it is now much easier to get to Pripyat, occupied by radiation, than to the quarters of Varosha. 
36. On the one hand, there is a fence made of barbed wire, in some places already thoroughly crumpled, behind which there are residential houses and roses grow, and on the other - almost the same houses, near which the Turks sit and swarthy kids run around. 
37. Oddly enough, there is an opinion that the Greeks benefited mainly from the division of Famagusta. Until 1974 the most famous resorts were located precisely on the Turkish side, but even the unrecognized status of the TRNC proclaimed in 1983 did not help to attract tourists to this part of the island. A prime example of this is the former fishing village of Ayia Napa on the Greek side, which has become tourist centre Cyprus, and the once fashionable Varosh became a "ghost town". 
38. According to experts, alas, many buildings in Varosha are no longer amenable to reconstruction and restoration. 40 years of oblivion, the consequences of the actions of the military and looters, the weather and nature pass a harsh sentence on the area. Even if the situation on the island returns to normal and local residents return home, a significant part of the houses, especially high-rise ones, will have to be demolished here. 
39. It is estimated that 100 billion euros are needed to restore Varosha. It is clear that it is almost impossible to find such money, and recently an alternative project has appeared. At the beginning of 2016, in the village of Derinya, from where the full volume of disasters in Varosha can be seen, the Ecocity project was presented - a new eco-city on the site of the “dead”. The initiator is director Vasia Markides, a Cypriot woman whose family fled from Varosha to the United States in 1974. The plan for the restoration of the region is, of course, very approximate, since specialists do not have access to the site of the planned construction. By promoting the project, they believe they will be able to accelerate the resort's revival. But whether it will be, and most importantly - when, no one knows! 
40. Attempts to solve the problem of the so-called Northern Cyprus each time run up against one problem: the Turks insist on recognition independent state TRNC, Greek Cypriots are reminded of their real estate abandoned in the occupied territory.
#ButCyprusTurkish 
First, a coup d'etat took place in this country, and the president was removed from power. Then another state brought its troops into part of its territory, annexing it and calling it a "peacekeeping operation." This is not about any modern events, but about what happened exactly 40 years ago, in July 1974, in Cyprus. One of the results of the division of the island into Turkish and Greek halves was the appearance of a ghost town on its map. Dozens of high-rise hotels, sanatoriums, residential buildings and private villas were suddenly abandoned by their owners and residents, surrounded by barbed wire and put at the disposal of looters and nature for many decades. We will tell you about the sunny history and the ghostly present of Varosha, a luxurious Mediterranean resort that repeated the fate of the Ukrainian Pripyat.
(66 photos total)
1. Cyprus gained independence from Great Britain back in 1960, but the United Kingdom retained two large military bases on the island, which still have the status of a British overseas territory. The first years of the long-awaited building of a strong, independent and prosperous state were accompanied by regular clashes between representatives of the Greek Orthodox majority and the Muslim Turks, who first appeared in Cyprus at the end of the 16th century, when the Ottoman Empire invaded the island.
2. Ethnic clashes, however, did not prevent local residents, in addition to growing olives, to start developing tourism, which eventually became the basis of the island economy. Famagusta, a port city in the southeast of Cyprus, was turned into one of its centers.
3. From his great-grandfathers he inherited a Venetian fortress, several beautiful Gothic churches (some, however, in the form of ruins) and the remains of ancient Salamis, the largest ancient Greek city in Cyprus. All this, together with the climate, sandy beaches and the Mediterranean Sea, was enough to transform Famagusta into an international health resort.
4. In the 1960s and early 1970s, dozens of new high-rise hotels and apartment buildings sprang up south of the city, selling or renting apartments to those wishing to soak up the hot Mediterranean sun.
5. The new district was named Varosha, and for some time it even seemed that it had only a bright and cloudless future ahead of it.
6. Golden Sands, Grecian, Argo, King George, Asterias - these and many other hotels in Varosha, lined up along the front street named after John F. Kennedy, formed the new modernist face of Famagusta, attracting wealthy vacationers and even world stars of the first magnitude.
7. Coastal restaurants, nightclubs, fashionable shops, luxurious women with cocktails on the beaches, snow-white yachts - all of this now remains only old bright postcards that tourists who have seen the golden decade of the city have time to buy as a keepsake or send to relatives who find themselves in Varosha was not lucky.
16. It all came to an end in the midst of tourist season 1974, and the hen, which laid the golden eggs for the city, was cut off by the Cypriots themselves with the help of the aggressive military of the two NATO member states, who managed to fight each other as friendship between peoples.
17. In July, with the support of the infamous Greek “black colonels” who frightened children in the Soviet Union, local radicals who wanted an immediate and merciless reunification with Mother Greece ousted the President of Cyprus and concurrently his main Orthodox Archbishop Makarios. In response to this outrageous putsch, the Turkish authorities, under the pretext of protecting the Turkish Cypriots, whom the Greeks allegedly intended to massacre in an act of violent reunification, sent a "limited contingent" of their own troops to the north of the island.
18. During the "peacekeeping operation in Cyprus", about 1,000 people were killed on both sides, several dozen tanks were destroyed and one Turkish destroyer was sunk (and the Turks themselves sunk it by mistake). The main result of the religious-ethnic conflict was the formation on the half of the island of the Republic of Northern Cyprus controlled by the Turkish army, which has so far been solemnly recognized only by Turkey itself.
19. Famagusta found itself in this Turkish sector, and Varosha, its resort area, closely adjoined the so-called Green Line, a buffer demilitarized zone controlled by UN troops and dividing the island into Greek and Turkish parts. Mostly Greeks lived in Varosha and owned most of the hotels here - for them, the war for Cyprus ended almost overnight with a rapid evacuation, and in fact, with flight to "their" half of the island. 109 hotels and residential complexes of the region, capable of receiving about 11 thousand guests, were instantly empty.
22. To the credit of the new Turkish authorities, they did not confiscate someone else's property, transferring it to new owners, but preferred to enclose the quarter with a fence with barbed wire and restrict access to it.
23. Probably, at first they (as, in fact, and the locals who fled) believed that the conflict would somehow normalize and everything would somehow return to its previous, usual course. This, however, did not happen 40 years later.
24. Ten years after the events described above, in 1984, the UN Security Council, at its regular meeting on the situation in Cyprus, adopted a resolution, in which, in particular, Varosha was also discussed. According to the document, “attempts to populate any part of the Varosha district with anyone other than its inhabitants” were declared inadmissible. This is how the transformation was legally formalized. former resort to the ghost town.
25. The local residents, of course, were not allowed to return to their native region, the Turks did not need extra Greeks, and they themselves perceived the prospect of life under the new, not too friendly-minded government, ambiguously.
26. Varosha still remains under the control of exclusively Turkish military, only UN employees are allowed here, tourists are prohibited from visiting its quarters, although it is difficult to deny the obvious: the "ghost district" even against the background of ancient ruins, Venetian fortress and the Gothic churches (turned into mosques by the Turks) Famagusta became its main attraction.
29. Admire (or horrified) her, however, you can only because of the fence. Theoretically, it is not particularly difficult to penetrate its perimeter (over four decades, quite convenient holes have appeared in the fence), however, being on the territory of the district with the prospect of arrest entails unpredictable consequences.
32. Almost all stories about Varosha are accompanied by a heartbreaking quote by Jan Olaf Bengtson, who managed to visit her in 1977: “The asphalt on the streets is cracked from the heat of the sun, and bushes grow in the middle of the road. Now, in September 1977, the dining tables are still set, the clothes are still hanging in the laundries, and the lamps are still on. Famagusta is a ghost town. The quarter is "frozen in time" - with shops filled with clothes that were fashionable in the seventies and empty but fully equipped hotels. "
33. A fragile imagination immediately paints an exciting picture of a city forever frozen in the mid-1970s, access to which for millions of tourists eager to make a trip through time is closed only because of the tyranny and shortsightedness of the Turkish militarists.
34. Reality is actually much more prosaic. The key phrase in the passage of the lucky Swede is "in September 1977". Then, quite possibly, Varosha really looked like a full-fledged city, from which all residents simply disappeared at one moment. Over the 37 years that have passed since that visit, the Turkish military, the administration and the evacuees themselves have removed practically everything that was of any value from the area.
35. So now there are no laid dining tables, burning lamps or clothes in the laundries, but there is plenty of rusty scrap metal, crumbling concrete that has filled all the vegetation, and, of course, the Turkish military. The latter, by the way, use the only building preserved in its original form in Varosha as a recreation center.
37. However, even in such a pretty devastated form in Varosha there are many interesting things for lovers of "abandonment".
38. 1970s cars abandoned in garages and on the streets (including an entire Toyota fleet at a nearby Japanese brand dealership), furniture, household items and once valuable food would delight lovers of relics if they had access to them. ...
41. Alas, it is now incomparably easier to get to Pripyat, occupied by radiation, than to these districts of Famagusta, which have become a victim of ethnic wars.
